This weekend has passed by all too quickly. I hope the next 3 weeks will do the same. I am currently teaching summer school writing, and I spent a few hours today scoring pre assessment essays. Let's just say that these students have definitely earned their spots in summer school. My task is to bring these bright and shining stars to proficient writing level (as determined by the state mandated writing rubric, of course) by the end of July. Please say a prayer for the kiddos... AND for me because, believe me, we are all going to need it.

Inspiring

I can imagine a dozen scenarios to fit this image. Can you?

B is for Bodog

Bo is my 2 year old Boston Terrier. He brings much joy to my life.No matter what is going on or what kind of day I am having, this pup greets me with excitement. If you'll notice, in addition to the black and white Boston, there is also a yellow tennis ball nestled into the grass in the background. Well, this dog is always ready for a serious game of fetch. Game on.

Celebrating 25 Years

of me! I have had a wonderful weekend, and today is my birthday. My friends, family, and church family have made this a special milestone for me. My husband surprised me Friday afternoon. When I walked in the house after work, he had baked a cake for me and placed flowers and special gifts on the table. Life is sweet and God is good.

Spring Has Sprung!

I cannot believe the months have flown by so quickly! Last time I posted, it was January... and here we are. Easter is coming up this weekend. Wow!

Spring is a time for renewal and change, and that is exactly what is going on in my home life. My husband and I are house-hunting for the first time, and although it is quite a chore and extremely nerve-wracking, I am enjoying every minute of it. We put in an offer on a house yesterday evening, but apparently our offer was not the only one that has been put in on it. So, we are leaving everything in God's hands. If it is meant for us to buy this house, so be it, and if not, then we plan to spend all day next Saturday continuing our search... All in all, the home front is full of excitement.

As for work, all is well. The school year is wrapping up nicely. We are currently on spring break, and when we return next week, we will only have 8 weeks left... but really, who's counting?

In regard to my writing, yes, I am still writing away here at home when I get the spare time or random inspiration, but I am stuck on a few things that I need to work out. I am trying to develop conflicts for my characters because, quite frankly, a plot cannot move without conflict and characters actions and reactions to the conflict. We'll see what happens...

Beautiful

Teacher's appreciate snow days, too!

'Tis the Season...

to celebrate, reflect on the many blessings of the year, and enjoy time together with family and friends. As a teacher, I look forward to the upcoming winter break, but my husband and I have already started putting up our Christmas decorations around the house. I decorated our wreath, and Robert tied the bow for me. Team work, right? Now, if we could just get the shopping part out of the way...

loss

How do you deal with unexpected loss?

Quite an Honor, Thanks!

I have been FEATURED by A Duck in Her Pond! Feel free to read the feature and to stop by the Pond.

Why didn't I think of this?

For the first time, my husband and I rented a movie from a Redbox vending machine. It is really neat and convenient... $1, 1 night, due back before 9:00... Apparently it is really catching on. We went back tonight at 8:30 to return our flick, and there was a crowd of people lined up around us.

This leads me to consider... What other kinds of things can be sold in vending machines? This topic is worth squeezing into a story somehow... :)

How Much is that Puppy in the Window?

Whenever I am home and writing at my computer, this is my writing companion. His name is Bo, and he is a Boston Terrier. He is full of energy and always ready to play, but whenever I am working, he rests at my side. (And, yes, he does have a very nice collar tag, but it has fallen off somehow...Time for a new one.)

Here are a few of his puppy pictures. He was so tiny!

Surrender to the Night

Fires blazing in this red, hot mind.

I see the sun high in the sky.

Now, I am blind.

Stepping out of this hamster wheel,

Pain only I can produce, but why?

Only I know how you feel.

Refocus, calm the night.

Moonbeams soothe the shadows.

Wake tomorrow in new light.

Change is Good

I like to take pictures of students during learning activities, and the picture above came from a group of photos that I snapped while students were writing poetry (with a focus on the use of sensory details) outside on one of the first warm spring days that we had this year. The school that I have worked in for the past two years has a beautiful campus, and I liked to take advantage of warm days like this to get the kids outside.

Next year, I will be working at a different school about two hours away because I have accepted a job as a middle school reading teacher there. My husband and I will be moving in August, and we are excited about the move because the majority of our family members live in the area, and we have been "away" for about five years. Although I will miss my students and colleagues that I have bonded with over the past couple of years, it will be nice to be close to family again.

8/8/2008

I’ll never forget his appearance.

“I remember the alley and the house; it all used to look so much bigger.”

Pale, blue-green house,

Locked, chain link fence

Closing in the old car with a

Tire on the hood.

Old black jeans, hanging loosely from his thin waist.

“No way! I can’t believe this!”

Cracked sidewalks,

Children pedaling slowly by on

Aged bicycles.

The high school down the street is closed.

Faded blue t-shirt pressing against the new, blue polo.

“It’s been sixteen years.”

No questions to ask.

Everything is clear.

The door is closed.

The small wooden steps can sustain the pressure of the two.

Soiled, worn, only time could know – the red and white hat.

“I want you to meet someone.”

The old truck in the driveway.

The old man sits in his kitchen, smoking.

The door is open.

He knows – we all know – about the letters she wrote.

The once-white tennis shoes must have walked miles in the well-known path - inescapable.

“You’re better off down there.” The

Search leads to honesty and truth.

No empty words. Hesitancy as

Time steals away with the meeting.

The summer sun burns the dry, brown grass.

The frail, exhausted body – sincere embrace.

“Y’all get outta here.”

Fifteen minutes slip away in the moment that does not

Last.

Ten hours into the night – a lifetime – to contemplate the profound experience - reflect.

There is no handbook for the human condition.

–WS 8/20/2008

Drama Lama

Dear Lord,

Please help me keep the drama lama out of my life. He's really a dreadful creature!

Amen.

Facebook Quiz Results: Which type of Woman am I?

Facebook really is a huge time waster, but when I'm up late doing classwork and so tired that I can't keep my eyes open... Yes, it is about time for a classic Facebook quiz... 

Whitney took the Which type of woman are you? quiz and the result is Lovely Lady

You are lovely and caring. You help others and spread out a lot of sympathy. Your life aim might be to serve the people. But your weakness is that you forget about yourself, your own needs. All your time is hold back for your friends and family. You are always there for people in trouble. Ready for any emergency. You make a lot of sacrifices just to be a good human. But every woman has her needs, her longings and a destiny. Don't loose yourself in work or curing other people's souls. You will have your own problems in your life. Another problem is that you don't say your opinion when it's right and important to say it. People trample onto your soul if you are always so kind and lovely and helpful. They will play on you. Though you should try to relax more and enjoy your life, you should not loose the gift that was given to you to help others . Not everyone is created this way... You are unique and rare!

The last Facebook quiz I posted on here was "How Will I Become Famous."

Lovely!

Break out the champagne... I've been awarded a "One Lovely Blog" award! Thank you, Valentine and Demosthenes at letters from valentine for sharing this with me and reading my blog.

Rules for accepting and sharing this award:

1. Accept the award and post it on your blog with the name of and link to the person who shared the award with you.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know that they have been chosen for this award.

And today's Whitney Inspired winners of the coveted "One Lovely Blog" award are:

1. When Pigs Fly
2. A Duck in Her Pond
3. Sandra's Way of Stamping
4. Wildflower Fitness
5. Take Me the Way I Am
6. Pictures, Poetry, and Prose
7. Creations by Lanie
8. Creative Writing Corner
9. Cinnamon and Honey
10. Food for Thought
11. Katamommy Damacy
12. Home of the Lazy Dog
13. Juggling Act of Life
14. Black and Abroad
15. A Brit in Tennessee

An Old Sketch, A Recurring Problem

This is an image that I sketched a few years ago for Illustration Friday, and I thought about it today because I'm dealing with some of the same kinds of feelings right now. Time is of the essence this month. I finished my two spring semester master's classes, and my final semester (of 5 summer classes) will begin on May 18. My own students (HS English) are taking standardized tests for various classes and trying to finish out their school year, with their last day scheduled for May 31... Yes, this is a Saturday... We do not have any snow days built into our schedule. Hmm...

Anyway, so there is much going on and much yet to do... including yearbook distribution... Ahhh! But, everything will happen and work out smoothly. What can you do but just do it! Haha. Oh yeah, and I still try to squeeze in some time to write here and there! :) Will pick up much more with that in a couple of weeks.

Confined to a Cubicle

A few hours ago, I came to the college library and confined myself to a cubicle because I have a 10-15 page paper due tomorrow, and I simply could not concentrate at my desk at home.  Why is that?  

So, I am actually making progress now.  The paper is for my Renaissance literature course, and I finally narrowed down my topic to societal gender roles in the pre-Shakespearean comedy Fulgens and Lucrece by Henry Medwall.  It was written during the early Tudor period, during the reign of King Henry VIII, and it isn't bad.  For anyone who enjoys Shakespearean plays, I would recommend this play because it is interesting to see how many parallels there are in structure and content of this play by Medwall with the later plays written by Shakespeare.  

Okay, okay... back to work... 

Teacher Moonlights as a Freelance Writer

I applied for a freelance writing job a couple of months ago for Examiner.com and forgot about it because it was so long ago. However, I recently received an email offering me a job as the Nashville Public Education Examiner if I was still interested. I just published my first article, which was very brief, but intend to write much more as time goes by. I will be writing at least 4 articles every week. Those of you interested in public education (as it does affect all of us in some way), please drop by my Examiner.com webpage from time to time to peruse my articles. I will leave the link to the page in the "WI Columns" list on the right hand side of my blog. (If you have any topics in mind that you would like for me to research and write about, please leave suggestions here in the comment area. Thanks!